Go-cart.



PATENTED DEC. 8, 1903, F. E. SOUTHARD.

GO-GART. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 10, 1903.

2 sums-sun 1.

N0 KCIDEL.

WITNESSES.

' nm'nmm. PATENTED DEG. 8,1903.

1F. E. .soummu).

GO-OART.

urmoulon immune, 10, mos. I

2 sums-sum z.

- WITNESSES.

Y. ASHINGTON v n Patented December. 8, 1903.

UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICEQ FRANK SOUTHA'RDfOF TOLEDO, OHIO.

e Q-CtA'RT SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters PatentNo. 746,189, dated December 8, 1903.

Application filed August 10, l903.' $erial No.; 168,852 (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, FRANK E. SOUTHARD, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Toledo,-in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio, have invented certain newand that type of childs carriage known as gocart, and the invention consists in the particular construction,arrangement, and operation of different, parts with reference to accomplishing the following objects: first, to

make the device readily adjustable to any desired position for sitting or reclining, providing at the same time suitable foot or leg .rests for either position; second, to make the device fold into the most compact form for conveniently carrying it and storing it away when not in use; third, to combine lightness V and form ears 0, which are pivotally connectwith strength; fourth, to permit the use of steel of standard commercial forms for all parts for which metal is available, which from i Fig. 3 shows the device in a folded condition.

with the parts in vertical section. Fig. dis a fractional rear elevation, partlyin section,

of the device, taken when folded. Fig. 5 is a fractional front elevation of the device when folded. Fig. 6 is a. detached perspective view of the seat and leg-rest hinged thereto looking at the under side, and Fig. '7 is a horizontal section on lines 1/ y, Figs. 3 and 4.

A is the front axle, and B the rear axle; each rigidly secured on the lower ends of the legs G and C, respectively, which are made of flat steel-bars and are crosswise connected by pivotal connections to form two folding frames, the one carrying the rear wheels having the upper ends of they legs rigidly connected below the seat by a cross-bar D, while the others continue a little distance above the form friction-hinges.

The front wheels are relatively muchsmaller than therear wheelsandare spaced closer together bybcing sleevedupon their axle on the inside of the legs, while the axle which carries the larger rear wheels projects beyond the legs and carries the wheels on the outside thereof, thus permitting the front wheels to fold in closely between the rear wheels. Y I

G is the seat, pivotally secured at the rear end to the proximate legs by means of two sidesbrackets H, secured to the edges of the seat-panel and having depending portions which are slotted to form runways b for the crossbar D, the front end of said runways forming stops to prevent the spreading of the legs beyond their intended limit.

ed by rivet-pins d to the legs in a manner to nwardly-projecting flanges e, integrally formed from the material in cutting outthe runways, and these flangesform supportingledges for the seat-panel.

The side brackets have ,1 represents supports pivotally secured, by 1,

means of rivets f, to the forward ends of the seat-brackets. They consist'of fiat bars and extend above and below these pivot-s and support the arm-rests J above the seat and the foot-rest K below the same.

The arm-rests, which in the drawings are suitably-shaped pieces of wood, are pivotally secured at their rear ends to the outside of the. push-bars, and near their forward ends theyare pivotally'secured at their inner faces to the supports I, and to permit these armrest-s to fold completely into'the planeof the .push-bars the supports are formed with outward bends g.

The-foot-restKis formed of a suitable panel secu red between two brakets it, formed of bar or sheet metal, the rear ends of which are pivotally connectedby rivets to the lower ends of the supports I, so that the foot-rest may be folded between the same, and to hold it operatively extended the brackets have their Ibo rear ends bent outwardly to form the stops h, adapted to engage beneath shoulders 2', formed on the supports.

L is the 1eg-support, consisting, preferably, of a suitable panel hinged to the front edge of the seat and adapted to be extended in the plane of the seat and locked therein by means of a suitable locking device, such as the turnbutton This leg-rest is also adapted to form a complementary partof the foot-rest by being of a width to fit in between the seat and foot-rest and form a back thereto, as shown in Fig. 1, the foot-rest being provided with an upwardly-projecting stop at the rear edge to hold the leg-rest in position thereon.

M is the back, foldably secured between the push-bars and provided with means for adjusting it to different inclines. To this end it consists of a suitable panel, which may be a perforated piece of veneer, as commonly used for chair-backs, and two metal brackets Z, of sheet-steel, formed in the shape of angle-bar to one flange of which the panel is secured along the outer edges,while the other flange projects rearwardly and is provided with a series of adjusting-notches n. The flanges in which these adjusting-notches are formed project beyond the lower edge of the panel and form ears Z, by means of which the back is pivotally connected to the back frame. As shown in the drawings, at the point where the connection is to be made the wooden pushbars are joined to the upper ends of the pair of legs which form the back frame by means of a tubular socket memberp, into which the parts project. A headed rivet which passes through the cars into and through the socket member secures the parts together and forms the pivotal connection of the back with the back frame, a suitable friction being given to the hinge and a washer being interposed between the ears and the socket-pieces to obtain a suitable clearance between the edges of the back and the push-bars to permit of folding the parts in between.

Cooperating with the notches a in the brackets Z there is a swinging bail N, secured between the pi'ish-bars, which consists of the links g, which are pivotally secured to the inner sides of the push-bars, and of a crossbar 7', secured in the ends of the links and adapted to be engaged with any of the series of notches n for the purpose of holding the back in any desired position.

All the notches except the top notch lead inwardly and downwardly, so as to interlock with the bail and prevent accidental disengagement. The top notch n forms a straight shoulder and is adapted to receive the crossbar of the bail when the back is completely folded in between the push-bars, in which position the upper ends 12 of the standing flanges of the edge strips, which are bent out wardly, form stops against the push-bars, as

seen in Fig. 7. In this position the bail is prevented from disengagement with the back by the use of a turn-button s, secured to the rear side of the back, and the parts in this folded position are thus interlocked.

The manner of folding and unfolding will readily appear from the above description, the relative position of the parts when folded and unfolded being also shown in the drawings. However, for the sake of clearness in distinguishing the differentparts, Fig. 3 does not show the parts folded as compactly as they actually can be made to fold, as is apparent from the drawing.

It will be seen that all the principal pivotal connections are made between metal and metal by means of rivets, which gives them a desirable degree of friction and prevents any accidental collapsing under all contingeucies of use or unfolding accidentally in handling it or carrying itabout. The height of the device when in its folded condition is such that a person of ordinary height may carry it readily about without its touching the ground by engaging the arm under the pushhandle. At the same time the two wheels form a level base upon which it will stand upright when set down, the center of gravity when folded being within the wheelbase.

The arrangementof the leg-rest adds to the comfort of the child. By extending it and suitably adjusting the back the child may be given an easy recumbent position, and, if desired, the button 7', which upholds it in this position, may be suitably turned to uphold it either on a level with the seat or in a position slightly inclined therefrom. When it is dropped against the foot-rest, it forms a protection against the air and prevents the child from getting possibly entangled with the foot rest or other parts.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim is-- 1. In a folding go-cart, the combination with cross-pivoted front and back legs rigidly united in pairs at their lower ends by wheelaxles and a cross-bar rigidly u niting the upper ends of the front legs together, of a seat composed of a panel and two sheet-metal brackets secured to the side edges of the panel and extending downwardly and rearwardly thereof, rivets pivotally connecting the rear ends of said brackets to the inner faces of the back legs, and runways formed in the brackets into which the cross-bar engages, the parts of the brackets forming the runways being turned inwardly below the panel and forming supporting-ledges therefor.

2. The combination with the pusher-bars of a go-cart, of a hinged back and a swinging bail carried by said pusher-bars and adapted to fold between the same, said back having on each side edge a series of adj listing-notches into which the swinging bail is adapted to of said back into which said bail. is adapted 3 to engage and support the same at different inclines fromits normal position between the push-bars, and means for locking the bail and back together in the'normal position of the back.

4. The combination with the pusher-bars of a folding go-cart, of a back composed of a panel and brackets secured to the side edges of the panel and each provided with a series of inclined adjusting-notches, means pivotally connecting the lower ends of said brackets to the inner faces of the push-bars, a swinging bail pivotally secured to the inner faces of the push-bars and adapted to adjustably engage into the notches to support said back at different positions from its normal position between the push-bars and locking means on the back to lock said bail into ongagement with suitable notches in the brackets in the normal position of the back.

5. The combination with the pusher-bars of a folding go-cart, of a back composed of a panel and brackets consisting of strips of sheet metal secured to the marginal side edges of the panel and formed with rearwardlyprojecting flanges provided with inwardly and downwardly inclined adjusting-notches, rivets pivotally connecting the same at their lower ends to the inner faces of the pushbars, a swinging bail pivotally connected to the innerfacesof the pusher-bars and adapted to engage with the adjusting-notches and hold the back at different positions from'its normal position between the pusher-bars, notches with which said swinging bail is adapted to engage with in the normal position of the back, and means for locking the bail into said notches.

6. In a folding go-cart, the combination with cross-pivoted front'and back legs rigidly united at their lower ends by wheel-axles and a seat carried by said legs, of pusher-bars carried by the back legs, a back composed of a panel and brackets secured to the side edges of the panel, rivets pivotally connecting said brackets at their'lower ends to the inner faces of the pusher-bars,'a series of adjusting-notches in said brackets, and a bail pivotally connected to the pusher-bars and bars at the upper ends of the back legs,socket-j pieces into which the proximate ends ofthe back legs and pusher-bars extend and forming thejunction between the same above the level of the seat, a back composed of a panel, and side brackets secured to the side edges of said panel and rivets passing through the lower-ends of said brackets, the socket-pieces and theproximate ends of the back legs and pusher-bars and forming the pivotal connection' for the back.

8. The combination with the hinged seat and foot-rest of a folding go-cart, of a leg rest hinged to the front edge of the seat and adaptedto fold toward the under side of the .seat in folding the go-cart, means for holding said leg-rest operatively extended in front of the seat, and means for holding the front edge otally supported between the lower ends of said supports, a leg-rest hinged to', the front end of the seat, means for holding the same in alinement with the seat and means for holding the same in alinement with the rear. edge of the foot-rest. 7

10. In a folding go-cart, the combination of cross-pivoted front and back legs rigidly united in pairs at'their lower ends by wheelaxles, a hinged seatcarried by the legs,

J IOO pusher-bars carried by the back legs, supports pivotally secured at the front end of the seat, arm-rests pivotally secured at their forward ends to said supports and at their rear ends to the pusher-bars, a foot-rest below the seat, pivotal connection between the lower ends of said supports and the rear endof the foot-rest adapted to hold said foot-rest in its operative position, a leg-rest hinged to the front endof the seat, and adapted to be folded against the under side of the seat, means for operatively holding said leg-rest in extended position in alinement with the seat, a back hinged at its lower end to the pusherbars, a'swingiug bail hinged to the pusherbars, means for adjustably engaging said swinging bail with the back toadjust the same at different inclines from its normal position between the pusher-bars, and means for locking the chair back in its normal popivotally connected to the front edge of the seat and provided with means for supporting the same in alinement with the seat, a hinged back and a swinging bail carried by the pusher-bars and adapted to fold in parallelism therewith, said back provided with adj usting notches into which said bail is adapted to engage and hold the same adjustably in position at different inclines in relation to the seat. 10

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK E. SOUTI-IARD. Witnesses:

MARTIN V. BOYER, BOYD L. BOYER. 

